Jamie Foxx In Talks To Play President In 'White House Down'

BREAKING: Jamie Foxx is in talks to play the president in White House Down, the Roland Emmerich-directed thriller scripted by James Vanderbilt. The film is produced by Mythology Entertainment partners Bradley Fischer, Vanderbilt, and Laeta Kalogridis. Channing Tatum was already set to play the Secret Service agent who tries to save the president when the White House is attacked. Emmerich and Harald Kloser are also producing. Sony bought the spec script for $3 million earlier this year with Sony planning a summer start. There’s a rival project with a similar premise, White House Taken, at Millennium Entertainment that has Gerard Butler attached, but we’ll see if both of them actually make it into production. Both have been called Die Hard at the White House.

Foxx is currently playing the title role in Django Unchained, the Quentin Tarantino-directed slave era drama that also stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Christoph Waltz.

65 Comments

Central Casting • on Jun 6, 2012 3:49 pm

Why is it that the President is always black in movies where the world is coming to an end…?
Danny Glover in “2012.”
Tommy ‘Tiny’ Lister Jr. in “The Fifth Element.”
Morgan Freeman in “Deep Impact.”
Now “White House Down” isn’t necessarily about the end of the world, but I see a pattern… And gasp, we now have our first Black US President in Obama. Maybe the world IS coming to an end…?

Bob • on Jun 6, 2012 4:08 pm

Well life isn’t a movie now is it?

ZenJedi • on Jun 8, 2012 8:06 am

Couldn’t help but say that sometimes LIFE IMITATES ART and vice-versa!

jake • on Jun 6, 2012 5:51 pm

Bill pullman was president in Independence Day, perry king in the day of tomorrow and jonathan pryce in gi joe 2 — so I guess you see what you want to see and want to further your political agenda at the same time.

ericdb • on Jun 7, 2012 8:51 pm

Your seeing something that isn’t there. HE is making a joke. Asteroids and such, not economic collapse.

jm • on Jun 7, 2012 6:12 pm

LOl…how about the “Prez” in “Idiocracy”? a black, very stupid ex wrestler

Guess you don’t remember “The Day After Tomorrow”, “Independence Day”, “GI Joe”, Want me to go on? or do you just want to admit your inner bigot?

Ted • on Jun 8, 2012 9:15 am

“Disproportionately black” might have been more accurate. It’s not bigotry, it’s observation. And if you don’t see it, then that means you’re trying so hard not to be a bigot that you’ve accidentally become a racist.

Devin • on Jun 8, 2012 6:24 am

Alas, you forget this country’s best president – under any trying circumstance – David Palmer from the series 24. He had a whole country under (seemingly) continuous seige from international terrorism, and rocked it.

Judy • on Jun 8, 2012 6:54 am

Can’t wait….not to see it!

Nick D. • on Jun 8, 2012 10:14 am

Don’t forget Dennis Haysbert or the guy who played his brother (who later became president) in “24”? Or Zues (wrestler) in The Fifth Element.

Hmmm.... • on Jun 6, 2012 3:55 pm

So….the White House is attacked by Tea Partiers?

Anne R • on Jun 7, 2012 5:33 pm

No, it’s blown up by Occupy Wall Street.

ericdb • on Jun 7, 2012 8:49 pm

Tea party people and OWS people are the most non-violent people in the world, they just want to fight corruption, one the the government realm and one in the corporate realm. The media and your ideological masters from both sides have done their jobs well though, because look at you two demonizing them like good little puppets.

Brian • on Jun 8, 2012 6:30 am

Please. Teabaggers show up with guns to their “non-violent” protests and talk about 2nd amendment remedies to government oppression. OWS just want to camp out in public parks.

Steve Haven • on Jun 8, 2012 6:37 am

WOW! A Lightning Bolt of Scintillating Core Truth!

scifi_fan • on Jun 6, 2012 4:32 pm

Then how do you explain Bill Pullman in Independence Day? Henry Fonda in Fail-Safe? Bruce Greenwood in Thirteen Days?

I wish the superior script would win out — and it’s Channing Tatum not jamie foxx who would be kicking butt

WagTheDog • on Jun 8, 2012 1:56 pm

Fox, Tatum, and Butler … as President! They must be on bath salts in Hollywood these days. That superb President in “Air Force One,” Harrison Ford, surely would be a FAR better choice. Oh, he’s not available? Then there must be 1,000 choices left that are better than the first three (though if Butler can lose his Scottish accent, he might do quite well).

tom • on Jun 6, 2012 5:46 pm

Why do people come up with the same idea for a movie at the same time — are people stealing off the same script? This happened with deep impact/armageddon, the two snow white films and now this.

val • on Jun 6, 2012 7:35 pm

It’s no secret that plagiarism is practiced by companies/studios. It’s easy to get away with in Hollywood. Make a few changes to the plot, characters, setting… and you got yourself a movie that will possibly be better than the movie you copied from. It’s quite sad.

However, loads of ideas are pitched everyday; whether it’s from the vice president or the unpaid intern, so it’s not unusual to see movies with the same premise.

Mark • on Jun 7, 2012 6:08 pm

I’ve already seen the Movie…It was one of the seasons of 24…

jw_birdie • on Jun 8, 2012 5:50 am

This is soooo right! The White House was attacked and hostages taken…

Also, this just happened in SALT with Angelina Jolie!

why can’t hollywood come up with an interesting original idea

Venture • on Jun 7, 2012 2:22 pm

Studio execs and producers steal more than ever because our already loose values have become even looser. I know a producer who was dating a writer and when she (writer) found out he was stealing she dumped him and the poor asshole didn’t even get why.

David • on Jun 6, 2012 5:50 pm

Sincerely hope this is a movie about the pain of housing foreclosures and not a bad sequel to a Ridley Scott movie.

Greg • on Jun 7, 2012 5:56 pm

Hollywood is a business….it’s all about making money…and if a situation or plot sells, then people will take it and twist around…just wait until my movie about terrorists taking over the White House comes out…it will be better than before…BTW read Vince Flynn’s Transfer of Power…same situation, different president!

JaySmack • on Jun 6, 2012 7:56 pm

Awful casting. They could have cast any number of actors: John Amos, Clarence Williams III, Carl Weathers, heck even Idris Elba would be great.
Why a bad comedian who delivers all his lines like he’s half-asleep?

Another movie hurt by poor casting. When will Hollywood get it?

Devin • on Jun 8, 2012 6:26 am

Idris Elba – Luther is amazing!

But can he don an American accent?

Freddie • on Jun 6, 2012 8:55 pm

That’s the best Jammie Foxx headshot ever. Look at it. It’s like, “What? Say it again, muthafucka, I dare you to say it again because let me tell ya something if you do you want see the light a day.”

ericdb • on Jun 7, 2012 8:54 pm

Someone has a man crush

Roger C. • on Jun 6, 2012 9:40 pm

The whole world hates Channing Tatum. Why is he still getting major roles? Why is he still being pushed onto the public?

anonymous creative executive • on Jun 6, 2012 10:31 pm

Jamie should be the action hero in this movie. Fire Tatum he’s the most bland and boring actor working. Foxx would kick ass as the secret service hero in this. There’s a much smarter way to do this, make the president white and the hero black. ;)

Warner Borg • on Jun 7, 2012 2:28 am

I’ve read both scripts and I’d give White House Down the edge…., but not by much as you’d expect.

White House Taken (urgh) reads like a Carolco action movie from the early 90’s, which is no bad thing, but White House Down comes in at something like 150 pages!

Also it’s clear to me that Sony bought White House Down for Will Smith to play the president (40’s, African American) and now that he’s passed it’s down to Jamie Foxx. Hmmmm.

Uncle Bernie • on Jun 7, 2012 7:59 am

It is truly awesome to contemplate how left wing this movie will be.

BigD • on Jun 7, 2012 10:37 am

Wasn’t this idea done in “24”? I believe Jack Bauer saved the day. I wonder what will happen in these movies?

cap • on Jun 7, 2012 2:01 pm

Wasn’t every idea already done somewhere else before? If only original ideas made it to the screen we would have maybe 3 new movies each year.

Caryn • on Jun 7, 2012 5:10 pm

And your point? What is the problem with having a Black president? Was the world “coming to an end” when for the past 43 years the US president was white? It’s only been in recent times that ANY race (other than white
males) have portrayed the president in TV and film. To answer your question: YES. The small-minded world you inhabit IS coming to an end!

Fred Lopez • on Jun 7, 2012 5:58 pm

another movie I will NEVER watch

ELefevre • on Jun 7, 2012 6:03 pm

Wow. Another Jamie Foxx production I’ll be sure to miss.

Donald Anderson • on Jun 7, 2012 6:10 pm

That was beautiful !

bthomas • on Jun 7, 2012 6:51 pm

It’s called programming, Hollywood has been doing it since movies have been made.

NCR • on Jun 7, 2012 7:19 pm

All I can say is it’s gotta be better than “Held Up”. Nothing is worse than that.

Sfaaikido • on Jun 7, 2012 7:35 pm

Guess this is appropriate. Cast an actor who can’t act to portray a President that can’t govern.

sharonbell74 • on Jun 7, 2012 7:37 pm

I don’t think Jamie Foxx really looks that much like Romney.

harpersbat • on Jun 7, 2012 8:35 pm

As long as they both end up dead (In a movie sense of course) Go for it.

ron • on Jun 7, 2012 10:10 pm

I agree John Amos would make an awesome president

Savannah • on Jun 7, 2012 10:15 pm

Well, these producers must have some money to throw away because casting Jamie Fox ensures millions of people will not pay to see that racist smart-mouth jerk in anything…